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Michelle Kwan's withdrawal from the Winter Olympics opens the door to Emily Hughes, 17, the younger sister of 2002 gold medalist Sarah Hughes. Renee Montagne talks to USA Today columnist Christine Brennan about the U.S. figure skating team's prospects in Turin.

A report from investigators in the House, due for release Wednesday, is expected to fault all levels of government in the response to Hurricane Katrina. Authors of the report, "A Failure of Initiative," outline 90 serious flaws in the response -- ranging from ineffective leadership at the Department of Homeland Security to inadequate state and local plans for evacuation to a "fog of war" at the White House.

President Bush and his aides ponder their course of political action as the administration seeks to recover from Friday's indictment of a senior White House official and the withdrawal of Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers.

I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the most powerful aide to the most powerful vice president in the nation's history, is indicted by a federal grand jury. The news further rocks a White House struggling with a variety of second-term problems.

Two anesthesiologists threw the death penalty in California into turmoil this week when they walked out of the execution of a convicted murderer. The doctors objected when the state asked them to do more than observe the execution. Now death penalty experts wonder whether other states will have the same problem.

That holiday tree in your living room seems fresh, but it was probably plucked from the farm earlier this month. Tom Banse has an insider's look at the industrial operation to bring trees to market.

Reversing earlier statements, London authorities now say a man plainclothes officers trailed to a city subway station and then shot to death Friday had no apparent connection to the bombings of July 21. Police have yet to name the man.

Before this week is over, jurors in Michael Jackson's trial could be deliberating his guilt or innocence. But those 12 people are hardly the only ones in the country who will be talking about Michael Jackson. Just about everybody else is, too. Commentator Jake Halpern is working on a book about fame, and he says that all that attention might be part of Michael Jackson's problems.

In a rare holiday week session, the Senate continues debate on a budget reconciliation bill and defense appropriations legislation. The House of Representatives adjourned early Monday after passing a series of spending cuts and a provision for drilling in the Arctic refuge.

Mayor Ray Nagin and Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu will meet in a May runoff election to decide who will serve the next term as mayor of New Orleans. John Mercurio of the National Journal discusses post-Katrina politics in the Big Easy with Debbie Elliott.